The first man to shoot down the Luftwaffe: The hero pilot who recorded the first aerial kills against Hitler's air force, escaped a POW camp and fought in the Battle of Britain

New book details the life of Polish pilot who shot down first Nazi planes

Władysław Gnyś allegedly made first aerial kills against Germany in WWII

After fall of Poland he fled to France and joined the French Air Force

After French surrender he fled to the UK and fought in Battle of Britain

He was shot down over Normandy in 1944, but fled from a POW hospital

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The life story of the first Allied pilot to score aerial kills against the Germans in World War II has been detailed in a new biography.

Władysław Gnyś first fought for his native Poland when it came under attack from Nazi Germany, and later joined both the French and the British Royal Air Forces.

Gnyś has been credited with shooting down the first two German aircraft of WWII, during an attack on Krakow in September 1939.

Hero: Władysław Gnyś, credited with making the first aerial kills in the fight with Nazi Germany during World War II stands in front of his Spitfire V WX-F with Polish checker at RAF Heston

When Poland fell to the Nazis, Władysław - known as Władek to friends and family -fled to France where he joined the French Air Force.

However, come July 1940, after the French surrender, Gnyś was forced to flee again and soon arrived in Liverpool, UK. During his time with the RAF he fought in the Battle of Britain and during the invasion of Normandy.

In August 1944 , Gnyś was shot down in Normandy and captured by German forces. Despite his injuries, which included a bullet in his liver that he carried with him until his death, he escaped from a POW field hospital.

He was found by French resistance fighters and survived his ordeal, moving to Canada with his British wife Barbara at the end of the war.

'Ironically his life was spared by the enemy on more than one occasion,' his son Stefan W. C. Gnyś, who has authored the biography of his father says.

Starding off: Gnys, second left, is pictured ready to board a plane for a jump at the end of a fighter course in Grudziadz, 1934

Fighting for the Allies: Gnys is second from left in the back row of this photograph of the Polish Fighter Squadron, RAF Leconfield, September 4, 1940

Beginnings: Gnys, centre, is pictured age 21 during military training in winter at Torun 1931-32

General Sikorski shaking hands with Lt Bursztyn, while S-Lt Gnys raises his arm in salute, ready for the handshake

Brave: Gnys, pictured during one of his first parachute jumps in flying school in Grudziadz, 1933, fought for Poland, France and the UK during WWII

Life story: Gnys is pictured Skiing as part of military training in the Tatra mountains, Poland

Fleeing: Gnys and fellow Polish pilot Jan Blazejewski are wearing civillian clothes to try not to be noticed by Gestapo agents in Bucharest, Romania, October 1939.

'He carried a bullet in his liver for fifty-six years, from 1944 to 2000 when he passed away.'

'Fifty years after the invasion of Poland, he was reunited with the German Stuka pilot who attacked his squadron in September 1939.

'The two former enemies shook hands in the summer of 1989, reconciled their differences and became friends until their deaths.'

The book follows Gnys' life from his childhood in rural Poland, through to flying for three Allied forces and and commemoration as a national war hero.

After the war: Gnys with his British wife Barbara and their two sons; Stefan - who has written the biography of his life, and Haydn, in 1950

Fighter: Gnys in the winter of 1930, just before he joined the Polish Air Force, left, and right, the cover of the book about his life

Memories: Gnys is pictured reminiscing later in life

'The question arises as to why our father was historically unique, because there were many other Polish fighter pilots who saw more action and had more victories than he did,' added Stefan.

'The obvious answer is that he was credited with shooting down the first two German aircraft of the war and half a century later making peace with the Stuka pilot who killed his captain and almost himself.'

First Kills: The Illustrated Biography of Fighter Pilot Władysław Gnyś by Stefan W. C. Gnys is now available to pre-order on Amazon ahead of its release on December 8, 2017 for £25 (Published by Casemate Publishers)